Wheel and rail lubricator



May 5, 1931-` R. A. TANNER WHEEL AND RAIL LUBRICATOR Filed March e, v192:3 s` sneetss`neen 2 WEA/TOR. RA Enne- May 5, 1931. a A. TANNER WHEEL AND RAIL LUBRICATOR Filed March 6,l 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet. 3

una A yi il III ATTORNEY;

Patented May 5, 1931 ROBERT: 'ALLEN j'rANNEP.; "or"Y neaisonnsvrnmgfwnsr" 'vrac-aime; ssIGNoR To f'rHE 'AMERICAN VALVE e METER"COMPANYVOFCINCINNATL\OHIO; AcoaroRATroN' oa y 'App1ication filed March 6,':1928:A Serial'No. `2595503.

i 'Thisinventionf relatesV to new and .usefut improvements in Wheel and rail lubricators Vfor:lubricating 'the-Wheels Yof rolling` stock ,and-.sfor curved rails 'of' a Vrailway track. 5 AAmongithei several objects ofmy invention f arel to provide azlubricating"device-'for the Apurpose Vdescribedrivhichis automatic in its 1-goperation -;-V is adaptable for either singleA or dou-blevtracks; is ,simple in construction, and l isitherefore? cheap 'tor manufacture. A f

"'With these Vand other objects in view which vwill .more fullyg appear; the-'nature of the in :ventionfii'ril'lbe morefzclea'rly=understood byr gffollowingV theVA "description, thev appended: 15 claims,-and the several viewsffillustrated'inw the accompanying drawings.

l xIn the accompanying:drawings:

vvvFig. 1- is a plan viewl of ardouble` track'v equipped lWithmy invention, 'f 20 Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional viewVV A l thereof,

f- Blisanwenlarged-cross section taken oli-the line 3-310f Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a topvplan view.`L of EFig. 2, the'rail fbeing shown-v in section and the oil reservoii".r

in plan,

Fig. 5 is aperspective 'view'ofthe actuating lever, "i

Fig. .gland,

l Fig. 7 is aplan-vieWV-showing'theapplicationof luy-invention' to a-single track,

Fig. 8 is alongitudinalsectional view, Figa.- 9- is alplan view sh'oivingmyinvenf tion separate f from the track,

i Fig. 10 is: an enlarged sectional view taken" mythe-:line 9-9 of Fig. 7

1 LLike reference numeralsfdesignate correspending parts throughout` the-several :fig-- f ures of. the drawings. -f A Referring tothe accompanying dra-Wings, andpart-icularly to Figures l to 6 thereofin which I'ihave shownV myinvention yappliedto a f double'-trackfrailway, A; A1- indicates the L15v-tWo tracks.r Each track `includes 'the usual.-

6 is a sectional viewof the packing n o if lil `tothev hea d ofthe rails Bl, B and'crossities C. I have illustrated A a' curve: in? th'e` tracksf and have rappliedy my invention in=^-cooperat1ve relation to :the

Ifcurve dl vrails wherebyV 'the `outer curved frail ofeach trade-las Wellashewvheelfianges'of i' the rollingstock,` Wil'llrbe properly oiled.

`Each rail incl-udes'h'eusual-head 5, Web 6 and baseiiange 7.

\ "My invention embodies an oil. reservoir D having a bottom 8, an outer-sidewall. 9,' an,

inner inclined side Wall 10, end Walls 11'- and 12, a top 13,: andone ordnen/supporting brackets 14. Y r[he reservoiris lSupported on the ties Iand is located-adj acent the'inner face of 'the outer 4rail and -beloiv the head thereof.Ik The outer portionbf the container, thatis, Mthat portion which is adjacent the railg-fits between the head 5--andbase-iiange 7 v and lies :against the Web of the rail whereby a port-ion of ythe reservoir proj ectsv laterally from the raiLf rlhe top 13 isprovidedl -Withfan' Aelongated opening 15 -Wh-ich parallels ther'al and is located -just beyond the headA 5.l An oil distributing bar 16 Wh-ich. is inthe-nature of a Yflat metaliplate is--normallyflocated 'Withf in the reservoir t portion projecting upwardly-throug-h the opening 15 and i-n contactwith the-rai'l'head. 5. 2 Thegupper edge-o f-thefplate is bevelledas at 15? forcontact vviththeange 1S-ofthe Wheel wref-the rolling-stock.

. This rlistributingvbar v16is therefor-e normally disposed infcontact with the railhead 5,

and is adapted Lto be. moved downwardlyand entirely submerged Within the yoil ofthe reservoir. lnfthis upper4 position the''oil iWillYbe transferred to the flange v18'of the Wheel-19 of the railvstock-by its engagement Withlthe bevelled edgefl'? ioflthe bar., and the oil from `the flange-v18- .Will be Itl-iereafter transferred outerrail around the. curved v and-extendinwardlyfromfthe outer Wall 9 0f the reservoir. Supported by these pins 20, 20 is a spacer bar 21 which is located between the outer wall 9 of the reservoir and the distributing bar 16. The bar 16 is provided with a pair of cam slots 22, 22 through which the inner ends of the pins 2O project. These slots extend upwardly at an inclination to the vertical and the upper end of each slot terminates in a horizontal portion 23.

The distributing bar 16 is yieldably supported in its uppermost position as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. For this purpose the end wall 12 of the reservoir is provided with an opening in which is located a packing gland 24. A rod 25 is slidable in said gland and the inner end thereof is pivotally connected as at 26 to one end of a link 27, the other end of the link being pivotally connected as at 28 to the distributing bar 16. A rod 29 extcnds'parallel with th-e rail an-d one end thereof is pivotally connected as at 30 to the other end of the sliding rod 25. This rod 29 slides through an opening formed in a bracket k31 which is fixed to one of the ties C. An adjustable collar 32 is secured to the rod 29 on the side of th-e bracket 31 opposite the pivot 30, and a coil spring 33 is disposed around the rod 29 between the bracket 31 and the collar 32. The spring 33 therefore serves to yieldably retain the distributing bar 16 in its normal or uppermost position.

In order to automatically lower the distributing bar 16 into the oil and completely submergc the bar therein, I have provided an actuating means operable by the passage of rolling stock along the rails. It is a well known fact that every rail has a certain amount of fiexibility under the weight of passing rolling stock, and I have employed this flexible rail as a means for actuating my lubricating device. To this end, I have positioned a tie X between a pair of ties C, C. This tic X has its upper surface 34 disposed below and in spaced relation to the base flange 7 of the rail. Supported on this tie X is a bearing plate 35 in which the horizontal axis 36 of an actuating lever Y is journaled. This lever .Y is provided with a'crank arm 37 which extends under the associated rail, and journaled on this crank arm is a roller 38 which is normally engaged under the base flange of said rail. The crank arni 37 is provided with a second arm 39 which extends upwardly and has its upper end pivotally connected as at 40 to the adjacent end of the rod 29. As a result, when rolling stock passes over the rail C, the rail will flex and move downwardly thus rocking the crank arm 37 and correspondingly moving the lever arm 39 in a direction towards the right, as viewed in Fig. 1. This movement of the lever 39 compresses the spring 33 and also exerts a horizontal thrust to the oil distributing bar 16. As a result of this thrust, the cam slots 22 cooperating with the stationary pins 20, 20 will cause the distributing bar 16 to be moved -downwardly to a point adjacent the bottom of the reservoir. Consequently the distributing bar 16 will be entirely submerged within the oil. If for any reason the rail should be flexed downwardly for an abnormal amount, injury to the distributing bar will be avoided by reasons of the upper ends 23, 23 of the cam shaped slots 22, 22 permit-ting additional lengthwise movement to the bar 16 but without forcing said bar to be moved downwardly into -direct Contact with the bottom of the reservoir.

Should any abnormal or downward flexing movement be imparted to the rail by the passage of rolling stock thereover, such action might sever the crank arm 37 from its ournal 36. To avoid this possibility, I have supported the plate 35 on which the lever Y is fulcrumed upon a yieldable support. I have provided the tie X with a plurality of guide bolts 41, the upper ends thereof projecting above the tie X and passing through openings formed in the plate 35. Formed in the tie X and extending downwardly from the upper surface thereof around each bolt 41 is a seat 42. A coil spring 43 surrounds the bolt 41 and is located within the seat 42, the lower end bearing against the bottom of the seat 42 and the upper end bearing against the under i face of the plate 35, thus yieldably holding the plate 35 above and in spaced relation to the tie X. This space between the plate 35 and the tie X is sufficient to allow maximum downward flex of the rail and consequently the crank arm 37 will not be injured. Secured to the upper 'ends of each bolt 41 is a pair of lock nuts 44 by means of which the position of the plate 35 relative to the base flange 7 H ,j

of the rail may be adjusted.

From an inspection of Fig. 1, it will be observed that my improved lubricating device is located at one end of the curved track portion and consequently when rolling stock passes over the rails, the downward flex of the iail 5 i' due to the weight of the rolling stock will force the crank arm 37 downwardly through the mediuln of the roller 38 which is constantly engaged by the under face of the base flange 7. This movement will cause the dis- 'l tributing bar 16 to be moved downwardly against the tension of the spring 33 s o as to fullysubmerge said bar within the oil. After the wheels of the rolling stock have passed over the rail directly above the crank arm 3T, i

the spring 33 will cause the distributing bar 16 to be elevated whereby the upper portion thereof will be disposed in direct contact with the rail head 5. Consequently the oil film which is on the upper portion of the bar 16 will be first transferred to the wheel flange 18, and subsequently transferred by said flange 18 to the curved portion of the track.'

In order to prevent the wheel fiange from abruptly engaging the approaching endv of Cil the distributing bar and thereby injure the latter, I employ a guard rail with the in-.

aces s3 2. In a, raillubricating. device, the combii nation Y o -f allexible. rail, of, an` .oil-reservo] r ner rail ofthe track and located at a point die.locatedadjacent therailafndbelowthe head rectly opposite the reservoir.

Bv )rovidino a downwardlv inclined inner.,

wall l() to the reservoir, I have provided means for utilizing practically all of the oil that placed within the reservoir. The oil may be placed within the reservoir through the opening l5 or through any suitable opening not disclosed. he top 13 of the reservoir may be constructed in any suitable manner to meet the requirements of this invention.

`When my invention is applied to a single track, such as is illustrated in Figs. 7 to l0, I locate the reservoir centrally of the curved portion of the track and locate the operating lever on the opposite side of the rail from the reservoir. This arrangement permits the oiling of the rail and wheel flanges in opposite directions from the reservoir due to the rolling stock going in opposite directions. In this form of my invention, the connecting rod 29 is pivotally connected at its outer end as at 46 to the ripper end of an arm 47 of a U-shaped lever 48 which is fulcrumed at 49 upon a bracket 50 located between a pair of adjacent ties C, C. The other arm 5l of the lever 48 is pivotally connected as at 52 to a rod 53 which in turn is pivotally connected at its opposite lend as at 54 to the upper end of the lever Y. rlhe lever Y is in the present instance fulcrumed upon a yieldable support mounted upon a tie X which is located under the reservoir D. Consequently7 when rolling stock passes over this curved single track, the rail directly adjacent the reservoir I) will flex downwardly and cause the lever Y to be swung to the right as viewed in Fig. 8. rlhis movement of the lever Y will through the rod pull the U-shaped lever 48 to the right against the tension of the spring 83 and thereby force the distributing bar 16 downwardly into the oil within the reservoir. After the rolling stock has left that portion of the rail, the spring 33 will immediately return the distributing bar 16 to its upper position in contact relation with the rail head.

It is of course to be understood that the details of structure and arrangements of parts may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope oi my invention.

I claim:

l. In a rail lubricating device, the combination of a flexible rail, of an oil reservoir located adjacent the rail and below the head thereof, an oil distributing bar within the reservoir and normally disposed in a position along side of the rail head, and means for moving the bar downwardly into the reservoir through the flexing of the rail by the weight of rolling stock passing along said flexible rail.

. .'.thereofrfanoil-i distributing :bar: within .the

reservoir and ,normally disposed ma v.position v.m 'along sideofthe `irallehead, a lever..engageable by the flexible rail ,through :the 'weight of rolling stock passing a-lQng.-said,r-ailiuand means connected avith theibanand lever for voir nponmovement. of; said. lever.

3. In a rail lubricating device, the combination of a flexible rail, of an oil reservoir located adjacent the rail and below the head moving the bar downwardly;intothe-freser-, 'L75 thereof, an oil distributing bar within theyls reservoir and normally disposed in a position along side of the rail head, a lever' engageable by the flexible rail through the weight of rolling stock passing along said rail, means connected with the bar and lever.. l8|;

for moving the bar downwardly into the reservoir upon movement of said lever, and means including a spring for automatically returning said bar and lever to their initial positions subsequent to the rolling stock-* passing over said flexible rail.

4. In a rail lubricating device, the combination with a flexible rail, of an oil reservoir located adjacent the rail and below the head thereof, and means for lubricating the railf i6 including an operating lever fulcrumed upon a vertically yieldable support and operated through the flexing of the rail by the weight of rolling stock passing along said rail, and

an oil distributing bar within the reservoir and movable into lubricating engagement with the rail upon movement of the operating lever.

5. In a rail lubricating device, the combination of a flexible rail, of an oil reservoir 105 located adjacent the rail and below the head thereof, an oil distributing bar within the reservoir and normally disposed in a position along side of the rail head, means including a lever fulcrumed upon a vertically 110 yieldable support for moving the bar downwardly into the reservoir through the flexing of the rail by the weight of rolling stock passing along said flexible rail, and means for adjusting the tension of said yieldable? support.

6. In a rail lubricating device, the combination of a flexible rail, of an oil reservoir located adjacent the rail and below the head thereof, a pair of horizontal pins secured tolzo and disposed Within the reservoir, an oil distributing bar having cam slots for receiving said pins, and means including a lever operable by the flexing of the rail for moving the bar downwardly through the pin and slot` connections.

7. In a rail lubricating device, the combination with a rail including a head, web, and flange, of an oil reservoir fitting under the head of the rail and projecting laterally be'''lso V"la yond said head, a pair of horizontal pins secured to and disposed within the reservoir, an oil distributing bar located within the reservoir and having cam slots for receiving said pins, said bar being movable upwardly to a position in close parallel relation to the rail head, and means including a lever for moving the bar downwardly. Y

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my'naine.

ROBERT ALLEN TANNER. 

